Tottenham Hotspur have sold right back Kyle Walker to Premier League rivals Manchester City for an insane amount of fee. Walker becomes the most expensive right back in the history of football, as he moves to the Etihad for an astonishing fee of 50 million pounds! Meaning Mauricio Pochettino now has some serious amount of cash to look for a proper replacement for the departing English International.
Sky Sports have named quite a few replacements Spurs are targeting at the moment, amongst which is Benjamin Henrichs of Bayer Leverkusen.
Henrichs has been a key part of Leverkusen’s defensive scheme ever since he made his breakthrough into the starting lineup. The infusion of youth has always been a key part for Leverkusen, and Benno Henrichs is one of the brightest young talents for Die Werkself.
Strengths
Henrichs is a very versatile fullback, and apart from left back, the youngster can also play in the right back position. In fact, he was seen roaming almost as a winger on quite a lot of occasions. One of his strongest traits as a defender is his tactical awareness. He is one of the most tactically astute members of his team and can be very sturdy on the flanks defensively. He is very solid in his positional and mental awareness, which only bodes well for Mauricio Pochettino.
Technically sound, Henrichs is also a very cool and composed customer in Leverkusen’s backline. His maturity even at this level of football, is well beyond his years. Henrichs is very strong in tackles and can mark the opposition very well. Duels won ratio is perhaps his strongest point as a defender. He averages 48% success rate in tackles won, and an amazing 64% duels won ratio. He is not only a tough defender but also has the brains to go with it as well. Henrichs made an astonishing 101 interceptions for Leverkusen last season, that’s more than three per game!
Weaknesses
Benno Henrichs still lacks a lot of fuel in his offensive gameplay. He is not the best when it comes to delivering crosses, a very important part of Pochettino’s gameplan. He also tends to suffer if the rest of the defence is having a bad day or a bad time. As was the case for him last season, where most of the Leverkusen defenders underperformed and leaked in quite a lot of goals.
Despite his maturity as a defender, Henrichs is quite prone to mistakes, given he’s just twenty years of age, therefore he still lacks some experience when it comes to amassing a stable defensive unit. He made a couple of mistakes last season, which led to an attempt on goal. His pass completion rate is surprisingly low at 75%, meaning he needs to improve his passing accuracy a bit before he can make the next move in his career.
Opportunity
Henrichs will surely not be a direct replacement for Kyle Walker. He will arrive as a young defensive prodigy for Spurs, who will have a lot of potential. At the same time, it surely doesn’t guarantee regular first team opportunities for the 20-year-old. However, he can make a strong case for a place in the starting lineup, considering his impressive performances in the Bundesliga. If Tottenham can successfully manage to make the most out of Henrichs, then they might as well have someone who is miles better than Kyle Walker!
Threats
First and foremost, Benjamin Henrichs is very young! At 20 years of age, he isn’t even as experienced in the Bundesliga. Although he managed to nail down a place in the Leverkusen starting lineup, there is a substantial amount of doubt regarding his overall skillset. He struggled against teams like Dortmund, Leipzig in the past and a move to Premier League will only increase the pressure on the Leverkusen starlet.
[All stats taken from Squawka.com]
